Never what it seems
by xepherXIII
Summary: Uryu Ishida believes that although he likes Ichigo, it could never work out because Kurosaki's straight. But maybe it's not what it seems. shonen-ai don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

Never what it seems

A/N: Yo! I hope it makes it easier to read now.

Special Thanks to: everyone up until now

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Ch. 1 I dream of orange

"Kurosaki." A black haired boy standing in the middle of the hallway uttered.

"Ishida." An orange haired boy said.

"So…why'd you call me out here?" Kurosaki asked.

"Ah, that is…" Ishida started.

"That is what, Ishida? You're usually one to get straight to the point." Kurosaki said with an amused smile.

"Will you accept this from me?" Ishida asked holding out a small box in front of him.

"I mean um, it's Valentines Day and all so I thought…" "Ishida, there's no need to explain." Kurosaki said, gently pulling the present away from Ishida.

"I didn't get you a present, but I think I can make up for it." He said closing the gap between him and Ishida.

"Kurosaki…" Ishida bolted awake. "Why, why can't I ever be as bold as I am in my dreams?"

"Morning, Ishida-kun!" Came the bright, cheerful voice of Orihime Inoue.

"Good morning, Inoue-san." I replied.

"You okay, Ishida-kun? You look kind of depressed." Inoue pointed out.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just a bit tired."

I haven't been able to forget about that dream from last night. What am I going to do when I see Kurosaki? Okay, I need to think of an escape pl- my thoughts were cut of when Orihime cheerfully saluted the object of my affection.

"Oh! Kurosaki-kun! Morning!"

"Un? Morning Inoue, Ishida." He said nodding at us.

"Ishida are you okay?" I was currently hitting my head on my desk. I raised my head slowly and glared at Ichigo.

"I'm fine." I spat out. "Are you sure?" Ichigo asked. I stopped hitting my head for about 3 seconds. "I'm sure." I replied and went back to hitting his head.

Ichigo shrugged. "If you say so." I sighed. What should I do?

At lunch time, I was hoping I could finally get away from everyone. Sadly, fate was crueler than I had originally thought. Ichigo had dragged me outside to eat with him, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chad.

How thoughtful of Kurosaki. Although why can't he understand that I wanted to be alone when I said 'leave me alone'? We sat in silence eating our lunches for a while. Keigo attempted to break the silence with a

"You know I saw a really funny show last night" method. When that didn't work he decided to use a new method.

"So, Ishida, do you like anyone? I notice you're with Orihime a lot, you lucky dog!"

"We're in the crafts club. She usually just asks me what our club plans to do because I'm the captain, is all." I replied. There is no way I'm going to tell them who I like!

Mizuiro, who had been pretty quiet wasn't about to just let the first conversation in fifteen minutes drop.

"You never said if you liked her or not, Ishida." he said. I thought carefully, how should I phrase it?

"I like her, but just as friends, nothing else. Besides, Tatsuki would probably kill me if I ever did." I replied.

"She probably would, wouldn't she?" Ichigo said.

Keigo chimed in. "I can see that happening. But that's only if she knew."

Chad nodded, his first contribution to the conversation at hand.

"If you don't like her, than who do you like?" Mizuiro asked.

"I currently don't like anyone more than a friend." I answered.

"Are you sure?" Mizuiro pressed.

"Most people deny it when asked."

"I'm entirely sure." Keigo and Mizuiro decided to try someone else.

"What about you Ichigo?" My ears perked up. Wait a second... even if Ichigo wasn't straight he probably wouldn't just say so.

"I don't really like anyone right now either." he answered. See? Well now there was the possibility he wasn't straight.

"Seriously? Both Rukia and Orihime seem to like you a lot." Mizuiro said.

"Most people think you and Rukia are an item." Keigo added. "What?! Why would anyone think that?" Ichigo asked.

"Well...you're almost always together, and she's always dragging you off somewhere." Mizuiro answered. I suspected that Mizuiro had something to do with the rumors.

The conversation went on like that for a while until the bell rung. I was gathering my things when Kurosaki (who had been sitting next to me so I wouldn't run away) tapped me on the shoulder. "Ishida...I..." He was hesitating. I was puzzled. Was this really the same bold Ichigo Kurosaki I had come to know and love? "Ah. Never mind." He said walking away. What was that all about?

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Thanks for reading, and please review! Oh, and in Bleach they never mentioned if Ishida was near-sighted or far-sighted...so I just used whatever worked. I hope to see you again~


	2. Chapter 2

Never what it seems

Ch.2 Over and Over

Ichigo POV

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I …tried. Really, I did. Don't look at me like you don't believe me! Okay, so it was a half-assed attempt. All I really did was probably confuse him. You try asking out a Quincy who swears he hates soul reapers! It's not easy. Besides, he's a boy too! What's he going to think if I, Ichigo Kurosaki, resident substitute soul reaper/rival (in what I'm not ever sure anymore) asks him out? He'd probably shoot me with one of his arrows and then again to make sure I'm dead.

I don't know when or how it happened, but somewhere along the line I ended up falling for him, no matter how many times I told myself 'It could never work. 'He hates you, and probably always will.' I just can't seem to get rid of that ridiculous little shred of hope that maybe it could work. Too bad I'm not man enough to act on it.

Besides, what would my friends think about it? They're straight as far as I know. Ishida is just so …Ishida. I can't get him out of my head! I've tried to stop thinking about him, but he always manages to squeeze his way back in! I slapped my forehead.

Also, I tend to dream about him at night. Either that or I lie awake wondering what his lips feel like or what he tastes like. It's sort of well, embarrasing, you know? I've never thought stuff like that about Orihime and Rukia, even though they're girls. I can't think about them like that, it's just plain weird.

How am I supposed to confess? Get him a box of chocolate? But it's not Valentines. Wouldn't that be a little weird? Okay, umm…a stuffed animal! Wait, he's not a girl. He might think I'm trying to insult him. I know! A bouquet of roses! No, he might not like that. Okay, there's only way to do this. Say it to him, face to face.

The more I try to ignore my feelings for Ishida, the more I end up realizing how strong they are. Will he ever understand just how much I care for him? And could he ever...love me back?

"Earth to Ichigo!" "Eh?" I snapped back to reality sensei wapped me on the head. I forgot I was still in class. "If you're not going to pay attention, then you can just go outside." I held my hands up in surrender walked out and said, "Okay, okay jeesh." Most of the time I put up a resistance, but not today. Ishida was the only thing on my mind.

When I stepped out, I was planning to sit down and daydream. But, there was an instant change in plans when I saw Ishida struggling with some boxes. "Oi, Ishida! Need some help?" I called out. "No, I do not." Ishida ground out, wobbling dangerously. He was going right past me when he tripped over his shoes. I caught him easily, but the boxes went tumbling down. "I told you you'd need help." I said smirking.

"Shut up." He said looking down, but I knew he was blushing. What I didn't know though, is if he was blushing out of embarresment of being proved wrong, or if he was embarrassed by me holding him up. Could that mean that something? "Would you let go of me already?" he said impatiently.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that." I said letting him go. I was a bit dissapointed to let him go so soon, but I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. "Just help me pick these up." Was all Ishida said. I smirked again. Ishida was asking for help but wouldn't admit it. I tried to ignore the feeling that spread through me when I thought of being alone with Ishida, and started picking some of the boxes up.

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Hope you like. R&R would be greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Never what it seems

Ch.3 No way to say

Ishida POV

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"Why are you carrying all these boxes anyway?" Kurosaki asked. "For the crafts club, although everyone else is too busy studying for exams to help." I replied.

"Seriously? Why didn't you just ask me or Chad?" I stiffened and bit my lip (Kurosaki was behind me, so he didn't see that).I didn't actually want to admit I thought I could do it myself. Ichigo (thankfully) seemed not to notice and changed the subject.

"So are you guys getting ready for a competition or something?" he asked. "Yeah, it's in one month." I answered.

"Reeaally. Well what would you do if I said I wanted to cheer you on?" I stopped in my tracks. What- What was that supposed to mean?! "Well Ishida?" How was I supposed to answer that?

What should I do? Should I be sarcastic? Or should I just tell him not too? "I guess its okay then." Ichigo grinned. I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. So I just nodded and continued leading the way.

"Why are you doing this during class?" Ichigo asked. "What's with the twenty questions?" I replied. He really was asking a lot. He rolled his eyes and said "I asked first, so answer my question and I'll answer yours." "Fine. I'm doing this because I finished all my work. I didn't want to sit around being bored."

"Mm. Okay. I'm asking a lot of questions because it's so quiet. You don't talk much." He answered. I thought about this and then said, "Did it ever occur to you that the reason I don't talk much is that I don't like talking?"

Truthfully, I didn't like talking with people. Ichigo was an exception along with a few others. Seriously, with what I told him that time when we were outnumbered by those hollows and he said we should work together…I told him things I still had nightmares about, that no one else knew.

"It doesn't seem that way to me. I think you're just holding things in too much because it's what you're used to. But come on you have me and Chad and Orihime now, right? So what's the point in holding it all in?" Kurosaki said. Somehow, him saying that struck something inside me and I stopped walking.

"The same thing applies to you Kurosaki. How can you not see how much you affect us by holding things in too? They care about you more than they do me, and you're holding things in affects them because you used to be more open!" I couldn't help it. Someone needed to tell him. He'd been holding things in for too long.

"If you want me to open up, Kurosaki, you'll have to too." He had stopped walking and was looking at me in surprise; it looked like he wanted to tell someone what he was holding in. "It's a deal, Ishida." He said grinning at me. I smirked back at him.

"So which of us should spill first?" He asked. I was happy. I was nervous about telling him things no one else knew about me, but happy that he had chosen me to confide in.

"You first. Right now, you're the one who everyone is the most worried about." I answered. "Don't say that. Everyone worries about you to." Kurosaki insisted. "They all like you better." I replied.

"That's only because they haven't gotten a chance to know you! You're a really interesting person! I like the way you say and do things differently from everyone else!" To say I was surprised was the understatement of the century. Did he really just say…like?

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Hope you like. R&R would be greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Never what it seems

Ch.4 You've no idea

Ichigo (3rd person) POV

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Ichigo could feel the tension in the air as an uncomfortable silence set in between him and Ishida. _'Me and my big mouth!'_ Kurosaki cursed silently in his head. He didn't know what to do now. Should he tell Ishida now or make up some excuse? His traitorous mouth began moving. "Ishida I know this is strange but will you-"

He was cut off by a "Hi guys!" from the cheerful Orihime. His resolve was shattered instantly in those few seconds. "Hey Orihime!" Ichigo said grinning widely with a fake grin. Could the day have gotten any worse?

Ishida greeted Orihime politely. 'Figures' Ichigo thought. "What're you guys up to?" Orihime asked. "Just moving some things." Ishida replied absentmindedly. Ichigo couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

"Need help?" She asked. "No, we don't." Ichigo answered wishing she would leave them alone already. It wasn't that he didn't like her, but he really wanted to talk to Ishida.

"Are you sure?" She asked, practically begging to be given something to do. "We're sure." Ishida said somewhat impatiently. Maybe he also wanted to talk?

"Oi! Orihime, get back here!" Came Tatsuki's loud voice. "Aww, I don't wanna." Orihime pouted. "I don't either but we have to." Tatsuki answered. Nodding toward Ishida and Ichigo to show she acknowledged their presence.

"What's up, Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked. "We were assigned to helping out in the school festival. We're going to be making some of the posters." She answered without missing a beat.

"I'm not going back there! It's boring!" Orihime said running down the hall sticking her tongue out. "You're one hundred years too early to try running from me!" Tatsuki said running her after a short 'later'.

Ichigo let out a sigh, relieved that the distractions were gone. Ishida glanced at him. "So what were you going to say, strawberry?" he asked. Ichigo stared in shock at the quincy. First of all, he had used his nickname. Second, he now remembered what he said before being interrupted.

"Um, I-I was going to say…er…wanna hang out at my house tonight? Like, y'know a sleep over?" the words had slipped out of his mouth. He didn't mind too much though because it meant Ishida had forgotten about the 'like' thing. Said quincy looked surprised...and confused.

"A sleep over, strawberry?" Ishida asked. "Isn't that a bit childish?" "Well, u-um, we could hang out and have a pillow fight and stuff?" Ichigo was really nervous now. That sounded really to stupid didn't it?

"…Why not? I don't see anything wrong with it." Ishida answered. Ichigo felt his heart grow wings and fly. "Awesome. After school, we go to your house and you can pick things up!" he answered with a real smile not a false one he pulled on sometimes. Ishida gave a small smile of his own in return then it turned into a thoughtful frown. "What about your family?"

"Oh, well my sisters are staying at a friend's house and my dad's on a business trip." he answered quickly. "Ok. But we should really get these boxes to their destination." Ishida answered with an amused smirk.

"R-right." Ichigo answered slightly embarrassed because he had forgotten all about those. When they got to the classroom, the lights were off. They turned them on and set the boxes down, only to get hit with a small cloud of dust in their faces. Ishida was wheezing so Ichigo patted him on the back to help him. Man, it was dusty!

"Why's it so dusty in here?" Ichigo asked slightly annoyed. "The club who owned*cough* this place never*cough* cleaned it I guess." Ishida said. "Come on, let's go. You're coughing way too much. Are you allergic to dust or something?"

"I don't *cough*know. Maybe? I don't go to the doctor's that often and I live alone, so it would be a waste of*cough* money." Ishida said simply. "Wait. So you live by yourself?!" Ichigo asked shock evident on his face. "Yes. Who do you think I lived with? My father? I can't*cough* stand him."Ishida said walking out of the classroom.

Ichigo thought this over in his head as he followed Ishida, wondering what his Ishida's dad was like. He imagined some big, dumb guy, the type that would definitely annoy Ishida. Then he thought about what else Ishida had said. "My dad's a doctor. He could examine you." Ichigo said.

Ishida looked at him in surprise yet again. Ichigo was on a roll today. Ishida answered quietly, "I don't like doctors. I don't trust them, and besides my dad's one too." "You shouldn't let your dad get in the way of your well being! My dad's a good doctor, you'll see!" Ichigo said frustrated that Ishida wasn't taking care of himself.

Ishida's eyes began to shift nervously around the hallway. "F-fine. If I tell you the real reason you promise not to laugh?" Ichigo nodded. Glad that Ishida was being open and honest with him. "I hate shots." Came Ishida's almost inaudible voice. "They scare me a lot."

"Why?" Ichigo asked curious. "Because they do, okay?! How should I know? I don't have the answer to everything!" Ishida practically yelled. He looked a little pained as if even thinking about shots brought back painful memories. Ichigo was surprised by his outburst then realized he had asked a very stupid question. What was he thinking?

"S-sorry, that was a dumb question. I sort of understand though, I used to be scared of them too." He said trying to calm Ishida down. "Really." Ishida said quietly. Ichigo nodded. At least the quincy had calmed down some. "Don't worry. Just because you go to the doctors doesn't mean you have to get shots, y'know."

"Oh. Okay." Ishida said nodding, trying to reassure himself he wouldn't be getting any shots anytime soon. The bell rang just then. "Looks like schools over strawberry." Ishida said regaining his cool demeanor. "Yeah. I'm gonna go tell Keigo and the others I won't be hanging out with them today. Wait for me at the front gate?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course." Ishida said calmly. Ichigo watched Ishida rounding the corner. He really didn't have any idea just how excited and happy he made Ichigo, did he?

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Hope you like. Did I do okay on the third person POV? Comments are seriously appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Never what it seems

Ch.5 That's so you

Ishida (3rd person) POV

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Ishida waited patiently for Ichigo to show up. It was hard. Underneath his calm demeanor, he was bubbling with excitement inside. After all, he would be with Ichigo tonight. He didn't really mind being alone, but it was nice to be able to confide in someone after so long.

Just thinking about it made him feel warm inside, knowing that he wasn't entirely alone…He allowed himself a soft smile. It felt nice.

"Hey, Ishida! Sorry for taking so long!" Ichigo said running up to him. Ishida nodded, still a bit out of if and the smile ever-present on his lips. Ichigo's face looked slightly flushed. Ishida figured it was from running. "Well, lead the way." Ichigo said.

"Eh? You're coming with me?" Ishida asked surprised. "Yeah, so you don't get lost. Besides, I want to see where you live. Y'know, in case of an emergency." Ichigo explained. "Alright. It's just you're average apartment. Nothing special about it." "That's okay. At least I'll know where it is."

The walk there was quiet but not uncomfortable. As Ishida had suspected, Ichigo wasn't the type of person who had to talk all the time. In fact, he was a little quiet himself. Knowing this made Ishida smile.

"Here we are." Ishida said grabbing his keys from his bag. It made a high jingling sound, like there was a bell. In fact there was. A small bell was attached to Ishida's key chain ring. At the curious look he got from Ichigo, Ishida shrugged then said "I like bells." He opened the door.

Ishida felt a little strange letting Ichigo in but paid it no mind. "You can wait here while I get my stuff." He said leaving the living room. Although then he stopped in the middle of the hallway when he realized he didn't know what to take for a sleepover.

He sighed. Of course he wouldn't know what to take. He had never been invited to one before now. Swallowing his pride he went back to the living room where Ichigo was sitting on a sofa glancing around the room. "Umm...strawberry?" Ishida asked hesitantly.

"Hm?" Ichigo said turning to him. "W-what do you take to a s-sleepover?" Ishida asked. He mentally slapped himself for stuttering. "You don't know?" Ichigo asked surprised.

After he noticed the glare Ishida gave him Ichigo gave a nervous chuckle and went on. "Oh, well you take nightclothes, then a change of clothes, soap unless you want to use mine, toothbrush, toothpaste, stuff like that."

Ishida blushed when Ichigo suggested using his soap and luckily, Ichigo didn't seem to notice. "Ah. Okay." Ishida said going back to his room and grabbing what he needed to. _Thank goodness grandpa gave me that bag all those years back._ He thought to himself.

"Ready to go." He said walking out with his bag in tow. "Awesome." Ichigo said getting up off the sofa and walking out the door. Ishida followed and locked it.

"How come you don't have many pictures around your house?" Ichigo asked. Ishida sighed before answering. "Well for starters, I don't have many pictures of anyone I know. I'm antisocial and I not many people come over anyway."

"Oh." Ichigo answered with a slight scowl. Ishida glanced at the strawberry trying to figure out what he was thinking. It was as if the fact that he was alone…bothered him. Once again Ishida felt soft, tender warmth spread through him because of Ichigo.

Ishida gave an amused half-smile. "You know Ichigo; ever since I've met you I've been talking to other people more. Thanks to you…some of the people in class are actually starting to talk to me."

"For real?" Ichigo asked surprised. "Yeah." Ishida answered. Ichigo seemed happier now and was no longer scowling. The Quincy smiled feeling satisfied at having been able to change Ichigo's mood. But then he remembered something.

"Why do you scowl all the time Ichigo? You're pretty well-liked but people who don't know you seem to be afraid of you." Ishida asked. He was curious. Ichigo was a really good person who had a lot of strange friends. He seemed happy enough but still—he was almost always scowling.

"After my mom died, I sort of started to withdraw from people for a while. It was hard to find anything to smile about. I spent a lot of time glaring at my reflection whenever I could. I guess the scowl just stuck with me. Like a habit you know?" Ichigo said.

At the mention of his mother's death his face fell slightly. Ishida quietly noted this. "So that's why you're always scowling. It's a shame you should smile more strawberry."

Ichigo smirked then. "Same to you, quincy. If I have to smile more you do too."

"It's a deal then." Said quincy replied with a soft smile, then a pause. "That's so you Ichigo."

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Hope you like. Comments are seriously appreciated. Thanks to all those who have commented so far! ^.^


	6. Chapter 6

Never what it seems

Ch.6 Reminiscence

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When they finally arrived at Ichigo's house neither of them were expecting Renji to answer the door.

"Yo, Ichigo. Quincy." Renji said with a bored expression on his face.

Ichigo cursed silently in his head. Why now, of all times had Renji decided to come over?! Not that he hated Renji or anything but it was supposed to just be him and Ishida. Together. Alone. He was planning to ask him out tonight too.

"Why-" Ichigo started to say.

"Am I here? Rukia gave me her spare key because I have a mission." Renji explained. "Why's the quincy here?"

Ichigo was about to answer but Ishida beat him to it.

"…to hang out, I guess." Ishida admitted quietly. "I'm sleeping over here, tonight."

Renji nodded. "Come in already can't have you standing out here all day. Oh, by the way-I call the couch."

"There should be enough space in my room Renji." Ichigo said. Renji was already here so might as well invite him. Besides, he could ask Ishida out while Renji took a shower.

"I don't want to bother you." Renji answered.

"It isn't a bother, really." Ishida said tentatively. "The more the merrier, right?"

Ichigo grinned. Surprised but glad that Ishida was attempting to be friendly.

"I guess." Renji grinned too, having been happily surprised.

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"So what do you do at a sleepover?" Renji asked when all three were comfortably situated in Ichigo's room.

"Hang out. Anyone want to try cooking? Or should we just order take-out?" Ichigo asked. He really didn't care either way.

"I can cook. Is it really ok if I use your kitchen?" Ishida asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." Ichigo answered. Now he was excited, he would get to try Ishida's cooking!

"I'll see what I can do." The quincy said getting up and walking downstairs to the kitchen.

"Is it me or did he seem kind of happy?" Renji asked with a half smirk on his lips.

"He did. Probably because he hasn't cooked for others in a while." Ichigo answered proud to know he at least knew some things about the quiet Quincy.

"Why?" Renji asked slightly curious. Ever since they fought together, he and Ishida were becoming good friends. He knew Ishida didn't have much friends but was he really entirely alone?

"Well-never mind. I'll let Ishida tell you." Ichigo answered in a weird sort of daze thinking of how he would ask the quincy out.

"Okay."

They talked about random things for a little while before letting a comfortable silence hang between them. Until a certain stuffed lion made himself known, at least.

"Why don't you ever bring girls over Ichigo?" Kon griped. "You never bring girls here! Not even my goddess Orihime!"

"Ever think that's the reason he doesn't?" Renji asked annoyed at the disturbance of the peace.

"What?! All I want to do is to be lobed and huggled! Only by girls though. Is that so wrong?" Kon inquired dramatically.

"Yes." Renji and Ichigo answered in monotone, annoyed.

*Crash*

"What was that?" Kon asked with disinterest.

"I think it's from the kitchen." Ichigo said getting up. He hoped Ishida was alright. "I'll go check."

"I'm coming too." Renji said following.

"You're ditching me?!" Kon asked.

"Yes!" They said in monotone yet again, as Renji slammed the door behind them effectively locking Kon in.

"Ishida? Are you okay?" Ichigo asked when they arrived at the kitchen. There were a few pots lying on the tile floor and a cutting board was out, a sharp cutting knife with blood on it next to it.

"I'm fine I just dropped a few pans." Ishida answered inspecting his left hand, which was bleeding. A lot.

"Fine?! You're hand is bleeding, dammit!" Ichigo said grabbing the Quincy's hand. He failed to notice the brilliant red that painted Ishida's normally pale face.

Renji noticed though and smirked in amusement. He knew that the Quincy liked the substitute soul reaper but was to shy to act on it. "I'll go get the first aid kit." He said grinning and walking towards the bathroom giving them some alone time.

"It's not that big of a deal." Ishida protested.

"Yes it is!" Ichigo insisted. "You need to take better care of yourself. I don't like seeing you hurt, because it hurts me too."

Ishida's expression softened. His grandfather would always tell him that. "_It hurts to see you in pain, Uryuu._" "I'm sorry." He said softly as if he only wanted Ichigo to hear.

"It's ok. Just promise you'll take care of yourself." Ichigo said. "You're actually pretty reckless, y'know."Grabbing a damp cloth and pressing it to Ishida hand. Ishida hissed quietly at the pain.

"I promise." Ishida answered smiling after the pain had dulled a bit. Ichigo grinned back.

"Um, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, Ishida…"Ichigo began. Now was the time!

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Hope you like. Comments are seriously appreciated. Thanks to all those who have commented so far! ^.^It really helps!


	7. Chapter 7

Never what it seems

Disclaimer: I own nothing! 'Cept the idea of course.

Ch.7 Now or never

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Ishida blinked as Ichigo struggled to finish his sentence. Was what he had to say really that embarrassing?

"Will you-"

"Hey guys I found the bandages!" Renji exclaimed holding them up triumphantly as he entered the kitchen.

Ichigo cursed silently not knowing whether to thank or curse Renji. On the one hand, they could stop the bleeding on the other; his resolve had been weakened yet again.

"Okay. Let's bandage the cut then." Ichigo answered trying to work up his courage again.

Ishida hissed quietly as Ichigo applied the disinfectant on the cut.

"What were you going to ask me Ichigo?" Ishida asked while Ichigo was wrapping his hand with the bandage.

Ichigo didn't know whether he should answer after all Renji was still in the room.

"Uh, that would be er…" Ichigo said hesitantly. Then it was as if something was pushing him. It was now or never.

"Will you be my best friend?" Ichigo asked quietly. So what if it wasn't the question he meant to ask? He looked at Ishida then and finally noticed the blush on the pale boy's cheeks and realized he was still holding the other's hand. He didn't let go.

"S-sure." The Quincy replied his eyes looked a bit watery.

"Does it hurt?" Ichigo asked concerned.

"It's not that. I'm just…happy. This is a first for me."

*Cough*

"As much as I hate to break up this moment, but does anyone else smell something burning?" Renji asked slightly annoyed at having been so easily forgotten.

"Oh! The curry!" Ishida said rushing over to the pot. "It's beyond saving…I'm so sorry." Ishida said, his head hanging slightly.

"It's okay man." Ichigo answered slightly disappointed that he would not get to taste it.

"So what do we do?" Renji asked.

"I think we have enough rice to make onigiri." Ishida answered determined to make up for the curry.

"Why don't we all do it together?" Ichigo suggested. "So nothing goes wrong this time." Renji and Ishida nodded in agreement.

It had started out a little slow but all three found themselves enjoying it.

"It's a cube onigiri!" Renji announced holding a rice ball up.

Ichigo snorted in amusement while Ishida stifled a laugh.

"I hate to break it to you but that's a rectangle." Ishida informed the soul reaper.

"Eh? No way! Hmph. I'll just re-do it!" Renji replied turning around and getting back to work.

Ichigo studied the quincy. As long as he'd known him (which really wasn't that long) he'd never heard the boy laugh. Chuckle maybe, but never a laugh.

"Are you ticklish?" Ichigo asked randomly.

"Dunno." The quincy answered raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

Ichigo didn't answer and instead walked behind the quincy.

"Ichi-"

Ichigo suddenly put his hands up the quincy's shirt. Then tickled him.

Ishida burst into giggles while trying to catch his breath.

"St-stop it, strawberry."

Renji ignored them.

Ishida struggled before opting to face Ichigo, fully intending to get him back but he stopped. As embarrassing as it was the quincy and substitute soul reaper couldn't look away from the other's eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours but was approximately two and a half minutes.

"Behold! A cube-…Are you guys gonna kiss or something?" Renji asked.

Both males were snapped out of their trance-like state and realized the position they were in. Although Ichigo's fingers had stopped moving, they were currently holding on to the quincy's bare, slim waist. Ishida's hands were gripping Ichigo's sleeves, although he appeared to be pulling Ichigo closer.

They slowly backed away from each other.

"What went on just now…" Ichigo began.

"Never happened." Ishida finished smoothly. Then he turned to Renji.

"Amazing. It really is a cube."

"Woah, seriously?" Renji asked with a grin. "I was afraid I'd have to do it again!"

"It's definitely a cube. Great going Renji." Ichigo said inspecting it.

"Heh heh. Thanks." He said with a wolfish grin. "Next--- a sakura!"

Ichigo and Ishida both got back to work, each on either side of Renji. Ichigo was lost in his own thoughts. Why had he done that? He was supposed to be a friend. Only a friend. But, since Ishida reacted that way…No couldn't be. Even a million years wouldn't be long enough for that.

Then he noticed.

Ishida's cheeks were dusted with a light pink and he seemed distracted now. If at first you don't succeed…

"Ishida?"

"Yes?"

"Earlier, the question I asked…wasn't what I had meant to ask." Ichigo said. His face getting hotter by the moment.

"That so?" Ishida asked raising an eyebrow.

Ichigo took a deep breath and faced the other.

"Ishida Uryuu!" Ichigo's voice was a bit loud making both Ishida turn to him and Renji glance in his direction. "I'm in love with you! Will you go out with me?"

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Hope you like. Comments are seriously appreciated. Thanks to all those who have commented so far! ^.^It really helps!


	8. Chapter 8

Never what it seems

Disclaimer: I own nothing! 'Cept the idea of course.

Ch.8 Now you know

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It was as if time froze; none of them moved for about thirty seconds. Renji was the first one to move. He walked out of the kitchen. They needed some more 'alone time'

The quincy was frozen in place. Had Ichigo really just said that? A lot of things made sense now, but still…How should he answer? What should he say? 'I love you too?' Or should he wait until after they'd gone out for a few weeks? Or months? If it even lasted that long.

"Um…Ishida?" Ichigo asked tentatively. His face was red.

'Wow. He looks a lot like a strawberry. Red and Ripe, too.' Ishida thought to himself getting sidetracked.

"Ishida!" Ichigo snapped impatiently face getting redder by the second. "Aren't you going to answer?"

"Yet another first." Ishida mumbled to himself not really paying attention to what Ichigo had said. "You know Ichigo, most people say 'I love you' after they've gone out for a while."

"Oh." Ichigo said staring at the floor. It was amazingly, incredibly interesting now. He hadn't realized there were cracks in the tile.

"And most people usually ask when their alone."

"Oh."

"And you do realize that was pretty random time to ask, right?"

"Oh."

"Although to answer your question, yes, I would like to go out with you Ichigo."

"Oh… Wait, what?" Now it was Ichigo's turn to freeze up. He hadn't expected that. Was he dreaming? Ishida was moving towards him.

"Ichigo? You okay?"

"Eh?"

"And you may kiss the bride!" Renji read out loud from an imaginary book so that the two clueless morons would get with the program.

Both Ichigo and Ishida blushed at that. Renji could practically feel the heat rolling off their faces.

"No way! Only after the first few dates!" Ichigo protested.

"That's right! It's best not to rush things." Ishida added nodding furiously in agreement.

Renji sighed. "Whatever floats your boats then. Jeesh, you guys are all shy about it now even though you know you've wanted to do it for like, ever."

Ishida, remembering his dream, blushed a deeper red and started to go back to molding his onigiri. Ichigo did the same not really caring what shape the rice balls were.

Renji, deciding it was a good time to go back to kitchen, picked up his unfinished sakura but after failing to make it look like one, asked for some much needed help.

"Oi, Quincy. How do you make a sakura?"

"It's really simple." Ishida said, showing Renji all the steps and helping him make it look like a sakura.

"Thanks." Renji said grinning. "Hey Ichigo, you got anything I can store this in? I'll return it."

"There's should be some containers in the cabinet. Why?"

"I'm taking it back to the soul society with me. This is for Byakuya." Renji said proudly. Ichigo stared at Renji in shock.

"For…your captain?" Ichigo asked putting two and two together.

"Yep."

"Well, that's interesting." Ishida said having already figured it out a while back. "Why don't you make a few more? Then you can share with him."

"Great idea!" Renji answered excitedly busying himself with creating some more.

Ichigo was still standing there, eyes not focused on much of anything, in shock.

"Strawberry." Ichigo looked at Ishida.

"Yeah?"

"Is it really that shocking?"

"Somehow, not really. I think that's why I am shocked."

"I see. It is strange. I mean, first they both tried to kill you and now you're friends with one, acquainteces with the other. Don't worry though, I know how you feel." Ishida said, thinking of the first time he'd ever faced Renji and Byakuya.

"Glad to know someone gets it." Ichigo said smiling at the quincy. Ishida smirked back but then frowned, something having caught his attention.

"Ichigo...?"

"Umm, yeah?" The strawberry asked wondering why his boyfriend suddenly was no longer looking at him and seemed a little nervous.

"Your fly is open."

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Sorry it took so long! I hope you like. Thanks to all those who have commented so far! ^.^It really helps!


	9. Chapter 9

Never what it seems

Disclaimer: I own nothing! 'Cept the idea of course.

Ch.9 Yet another first

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Ichigo turned away quickly embarrassed. That was not something you usually want your boyfriend to see. Gosh, things just never went the way he wanted them to go did they?

"I'm gonna watch some TV." Was all Renji said. It was as if he was trying to get them to do something. And for some reason, Ichigo thought he probably was.

Ishida remained quiet molding the onigiri carefully. "You're not going to eat Renji?"

"I already ate. Not that you two lovebirds noticed." Renji answered nonchalantly.

Ah. That was true. Ichigo and Ishida had been rather taken with each other after all. So this was Renji's plot. Guilt tripping them into doing something.

Ichigo shot a glare at Renji before molding a few more onigiri. He and Ishida worked in silence, stealing glances at each other every few seconds. They were both too shy to voice want they wanted, and too polite to even think to act on it. After a few minutes of nerve-wracking silence, Ishida broke it, fiddling with his glasses.

"I think we've made enough now."

"Mm." Was the answer he received. Now he was annoyed. Enough was enough. He wanted Ichigo actually looking at him dammit! He stepped toward the other male, walking behind him so he wouldn't be noticed.

"Ichigo."

"Yeah?"

Ishida was careful not to give away his location. "Look at me."

Ichigo looked to his sides then turned around. "Where are you-"

Ichigo felt a sharp tug on his head as he was forced to look downwards. 'What a nice way to initiate a first kiss, Ishida.' Ichigo thought sarcastically in his head. Then again, if it wasn't like this then it wouldn't be a kiss from Ishida. Always doing things differently from everyone else.

It wasn't really a rough kiss, but a curious, exploring one. Ichigo could feel the other's heart beat against him and was sure he could hear his own.

Ishida wrapped his arms around Ichigo's neck to deepen his exploration, having to stand a bit on his tiptoes. He backed Ichigo into the kitchen counter and the strawberry grabbed his waist.

Feeling a little brave Ishida pulled away. "Look at me, Ichigo."

And Ichigo did, feeling his face heat up at the slightly crooked glass, pink-tinged cheeks, and look in Ishida's eyes. It was an entirely different kind of passion in his blue eyes, unlike the one he had in the middle of a battle.

"Do I make you embarrassed, Ichigo?" Ichigo grabbed one of Ishida's hands in his own.

"Not at all. I just get so worked up with these…feelings I get when I think about you. I don't…want to make you do anything you're not ready for. You mean a lot to me. I don't want to chase you away when I finally have you."

Ishida gave Ichigo a small kiss on the cheek and smiled at him softly. "I like the fact that you're trying to hold back. But it doesn't mean you can't touch me. I'm not a girl, and I won't break that easily. Please, Ichigo. I like the feel of your touch."

As flustered as he was, Ishida felt it had to be said. Ichigo pulled him close and buried his nose in Ishida's silky hair.

"Thank you."

A soft smile. "It was nothing."

And Ichigo was pulled into another kiss, hair being tugged at again, but gentler this time. It wasn't much of a surprise. They continued the soft kisses until they sensed eyes on them.

Ichigo opened one eye in the direction he felt it come from only for it to widen. Kon! He had totally forgotten about him.

The stuffed lion stared back at him with shock, looking like he was frozen in place. Ishida, who also felt the lion's stare, chose to ignore it in favor of strawberry.

Ichigo broke the kiss gently, giving Ishida a small apology kiss on the forehead and grabbed Kon.

"You won't tell anyone." It wasn't a question. It was a command. And Kon was scared of what would happen if he dared tell a soul.

"I-I won't tell anyone!" He repeated shaken. He almost felt like bursting at the seams.

"And if you do,"

"And if I do…" He stammered.

"Ishida will promptly take you apart and remake you to look like a girls doll then give you to Yuzu."

"Ishida will promptly take me apart and—hey wait, I'm not saying that! You're insane!" The lion yelled.

"No he's not." Ishida said slipping a pair of scissors out of his pants pocket. "I'm quite capable of cutting you."

Kon was cornered. He didn't trust the look in four eye's eyes either. The rims of the glasses gleamed and the scissor blades shined like an executioner's blade.

"All right, all right! Four eyes-" The grip tightened on his neck. "I mean, Ishida will promptly take me apart and remake me and I'll look like a girls toy and I'll be given to Yuzu."

"Good." Ichigo said. "You swear it?"

"I swear it! Cross my ears hope not to be taken apart."

"You better mean it." Ichigo growled. "If you don't…"

"I know, man. I know! Put me down!" Kon struggled.

"Gladly." Kon was unceremoniously dropped to the ground and Ichigo turned away from the stuffed lion.

Kon felt a sliver of fear run through him when he heard a mumbled "What a shame" from four eyes. He ran faster than he ever had in his life and locked the door to Ichigo's room.

"Glad that's over." Ichigo muttered. Ishida smiled, well, it was more of a smirk, in amusement.

"I don't think **we** should tell anyone yet."

Ichigo blinked not really getting it. "Yeah."

"We'll let Renji, the guy who's currently trying to hide in a corner of the kitchen take care of that."

"Dude, how did you know?!" Renji exclaimed, no longer trying to blend in with the wall. His hair clashed with the tile color anyway.

"I'm a quincy." Was all that was said. Renji and Ichigo exchanged a quick look. Typical quincy.

"Alright. So the soul society then? I wonder how Rukia will take this." Renji stated. Ichigo winced slightly at the mention at her name. But it didn't affect him too much.

"Thanks, Renji." Ishida said with a small smile.

Renji, having always thought the quincy was kind of, in an annoying way, cute, blushed slightly. "No problem."

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I'm really sorry it took so long. I do hope this makes up for it, this is the longest chapter. Remember to review! A happy writer writes more!


	10. Chapter 10

Never what it seems

A/N: Hi there, it's been awhile,(I'm very sorry) but here's the next chapter. I still own nothing!

Special Thanks to: Shinsetsu13 and cuartasextalover for reviewing.

* * *

Ch. 10 In your arms

Renji left at about midnight, claiming he sensed a hollow in the area (though the two highly doubted it) and Kon was locked up in Yuzu's room and stayed relatively quiet. That left them alone…together.

Alone, and…together…

The comforting atmosphere was gone and they were now both extremely tense, feeling the reality of the situation full force. Ichigo's thoughts ran through his brain about then, 200 miles an hour.

Ishida yawned, getting up. "I'm going to go use your shower."

Ichigo nodded and then—the thoughts came in. Images really, of Ishida, with his jet black hair sticking to his face and steam surrounding his thin frame—

"Dammit!"

He was having trouble getting these R-rated thoughts out of his head and it was getting worse and worse every minute. He needed a diversion. He needed—

"Ichigo?"

He froze. The water was still running…

"Could you get my clothes for me? I forgot them."

"S-sure."

Whoever was up there was definitely laughing their ass off at him and his luck right now. He opened Ishida's small bag to grab the clothes, when something caught his attention.

Ishida's shorts…were short.

Ichigo gaped at them and their tiny-ness. It looked like something a runner would wear…

"Ichigo?"

"Coming." He willed himself to stop thinking about it. When he opened the door to the bathroom, he turned around so to give Ishida his privacy.

"Um, Ichigo, I have a bit of a problem."

The strawberry felt his face go hot. A problem? Just what kind of problem?

"Since I'm not familiar with the layout of your bathroom, could you please guide me? I have a towel already."

"Ok, sure." Ichigo waited until the water turned off and then chose to pull the curtain aside. It wasn't, he realized, exactly the best time to notice that Ishida was just so damn cute, and then, there was the glaring fact that he was clad in only a towel. He needed a cold, cold shower.

He lifted Ishida off his feet--earning an indignant yelp and a smack on the jaw. But then, he mused, he'd been through worse. Once he spotted the Quincy's glasses, he quickly placed them on him.

Ishida glared. His glasses were somewhat foggy. "You can put me down now."

And the strawberry did, albeit reluctantly. Barely a second after though, he felt and unexpected shove and was unceremoniously locked out of his bathroom. It probably should've offended him, but it was more of a relief. Who knew what would've happened? (He was a teenage boy after all.)

Ishida came out a few moments later, with a small bundle of clothes. Ichigo flittered nervously.

"Why are your shorts so short?" And why the hell do they have to show off such attractive legs?

"My apartment is always hot. I haven't worn any normal pajamas since. They're comfortable." Ishida replied all too simply and maybe he just wasn't getting the big picture here, or the fact that as teenagers they were extremely hormonal. Maybe.

It might've been on purpose, but then, Ishida just didn't seem like the type. Ichigo sighed it was going to be a long night.

Ishida did get it though, but the thing was when he was packing it seemed, he hadn't realized it soon enough. And now…what a fine mess this was. Did it look like he was being too provocative? He knew the shorts were short, but…

He unconsciously pulled his t-shirt over his legs and sat in front of the TV. It was embarrassing. Ichigo broke the silence. "I'm going to be in the shower. Feel free to watch a movie or something. We've got a lot."

And Ishida nodded, left alone and paused to wonder: had Ichigo felt this way?

The water turned on and the steady thrum of droplets was heard. An afterthought: he must've.

He kept himself busy sifting through movies, action and horror…and this family sure did like comedies didn't they. He popped a random one in, not excepting much, but it was funny. He admitted that. He didn't even notice when Ichigo came out and pulled him against him.

Ichigo now confirmed his earlier suspicion; Ishida had indeed used his soap.

"You like this type of movie, huh?"

"Not usually. This is an exception." Ishida muttered, not entirely sure of whether being held like this was such a good idea.

"I see." Ichigo said, staying quiet.

They sat there, enjoying the movie. Meanwhile, glancing in through the window: Renji was slapping his forehead.

It wasn't even that the two of them were dense; it was that they just weren't doing anything! He'd left them alone together too, oh man, one of these days he was gonna—

"Yo, Renji! What are you doing?"….!! Jinta!! From Urahara Shoten!

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Renji lied, although he was sure what he was doing was pretty damn obvious even to the casual ghosts that sometimes past by.

"Liar." Jinta said, deciding to be stubborn.

"It's not a lie, see?" Renji lost his footing then. "I was just checking in on Ichigo."

"Oh." Jinta snorted. "How boring. Anyway, Urahara said he needs you at the shop. You comin'?"

"Yeah, yeah." Renji got up and dusted himself off. That was the closest call he ever remembered having.

It was three in the morning when Ichigo and Ishida finally decided to go to bed. It was a bit strange, to say in the least, Ishida in his futon and Ichigo on his bed. They were so close, so close…and yet, as the cliché goes, so far away.

"Good night, Ichigo."

"G'night, Ishida."

They lay awake for a few moments, unsure of what the other was thinking in the dark room. Ishida tried to sleep, there, in an unfamiliar place; but the memories came back to haunt him.

He was in an unfamiliar place back when his grandfather died to do, back then he was useless, unable to do anything—and he couldn't hold back the sob that escaped his lips.

Ichigo bolted awake in an instant, quickly moving Ishida to his bed—it was bigger anyways—and hugged him, the shuddering body calming down slowly. He was used to doing this for his sisters. The only difference was this was the person he loved as more than just a family member or friend...

"What's wrong Ishida?"

He waited for a reply, but then it struck him that it was useless, because the boy in his arms was still sleeping, trapped in a nightmare. Probably just stuck in past, like he always used to be.

"Wake up, Ishida. It's just a dream."

And those words worked like magic. Although he couldn't see it, Ichigo was sure Ishida had finally opened his eyes.

"Sorry. Just a ...bad dream."

"About your grandfather?"

How did he know? "Yes."

"Do you want to talk it out?"

"...not really. But, if anything, I guess you could say I still blame myself."

"Why? It was beyond your control."

"But--"

"Ah, ah," Ichigo mumbled kissing Ishida softly on the forehead.

"Don't blame yourself. Neither me or your grandpa would want that." And there it was that feeling of being cared for again--

"Thanks." Ishida sighed. He snuggled into Ichigo's arms, sighing in content.. So they lay there, safe and calm and comforted. In each other's arms. Softly, lovingly,

Together.

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Thanks for reading, and please review! Oh, and in Bleach they never mentioned if Ishida was near-sighted or far-sighted...so I just used whatever worked. I hope to see you again~


	11. Chapter 11

Never what it seems

A/N: Yo! I hope it makes it easier to read now.

Special Thanks to: everyone up until now

* * *

I'm sorry to say this is not an update. Due to a stressful, extreme double overload on my usual daily schedule, this story will not be updated for about another three weeks.

I want to give a big thanks to

Kitsune Demon Girl, AnimezDarkestHope, cuartasextalover, ReaperDuckling, Gaming Girl, glon morski

for reviewing chapter 10! I really appreciate it, so please kindly stay with me. I will not let you down!

But here's a small summary of the next chapter:

Ishida is extremely nervous...it's his and Ichigo's first date! But is it as important to Ichigo as it is to him?


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